The Covenant
by we'rehavingsofttacoslater
Summary: Once upon a times are the way to start a fairy tale. This is far from one. Follow the blind girl and her four dear friends as they discover who they really are and how they can protect all that is dear to them.


He loved her too much to do this to her.

She was too young to be part of the insanity. He couldn't kill a child, let alone a blind one. Her clouded eyes were too trusting, too gentle. Mizuki is not part of his mission. She is a little child.

Itachi wouldn't kill her, nor would he kill his brother. They were not part of this.

The young man carried his young niece safely away from the massacre and into the woods. He had seen his own little brother. If he was careful, he could avenge him and their families. Sasuke was too young to understand what they were doing, and he loved him too much to drag him under. He'd suffer without him.

But the child, barely nine, was like him. Her clouded eyes and her broken form told him she was in need of a better place. Itachi wouldn't let her father's family take her away. They'd turn her into a doll, something pretty and precious that was only good for sitting around and being sold off like cattle. Mizuki deserved a better life than that. Mizuki deserved a chance.

It was the only way to save her.

There was a little patch of grass that hid the pool. Itachi padded over slowly and knelt beside the pond. He knew it wasn't a pond. If he wanted to, he could throw a rock into the water and never see it again. The tear between the two worlds was something only the Uchiha family knew about. Nobody else could walk through it with the ease his family could. Well, his was the only family capable of doing so in Konoha.

His hand ran over Mizuki's soft hair and took a moment to kiss her forehead. She was so small and soft, a little doll. If she was dressed up like she usually was, her yukata would be less dirty and her long, black hair would be wrapped up in a bun and decorated.

It made him sick, thinking her of only as a doll.

"Hey," a voice called. A familiar figure came up out of the water and glanced up at him. "Is this her?"

"Her name is Mizuki," he reminded her. The woman, with her dark colored eyes and pretty brown hair, smiled and joined him. Her body wasn't soaked, even though she walked through the water. The woman knelt beside him and sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair.

"She's beautiful."

Itachi sighed. "She's blind."

"I already have a foster family arranged for her. They know about her condition and prepped their apartment for her. You don't need to worry, Itachi. We'll take care of her."

He nodded slowly. He didn't want to do this; he didn't want to give her up. Itachi adored his little niece too much to let the Hyuuga family take her away. Once she was safe across the Rift, she wouldn't be subjected to the dangers in their world. It was better this way.

"I wiped her memories," he announced and handed her over to the woman. "Wakana, I need your word on this."

"Name it."

"If Mizuki ever regains her sight, there is a chance my jutsu will break. The seal on her mind is right above her eyes. If it does happen," he paused for a moment and glanced over at her. "If it does, then come back and tell me as soon as possible.

Wakana sighed a little. She pressed her head to the child's forehead in a gentle way. "I will, I promise. But don't worry. Even in my assigned world, there is only one means of curing her type of blindness, and that is fairly expensive."

Both were quiet for a moment.. They needed to enjoy a moment alone before they separated for good. It hurt to think about that, but there was a child who was in danger. Her safety was needed before their relationship came up again. "I love you, Wakana," he whispered, his hand touching the slight chub of her face.

Wakana smiled again. She patted his hand on her face and murmured, "Ditto, Itachi. When I'm certain Usagi is safe, I'll come back and you can join us."

"Usagi?"

"Her fake name," Wakana informed him. "I forged her birth certificate, medical files, and most everything else. As far as everyone other than us knows, this sweetheart is Usagi Fukui, newly adopted by the Fukui family."

"The Fukui family," he whispered back. Wakana used her free hand to take a strand of his hair between her fingers.

"Shush, you. I personally know the Fukui family quite well. Her new father works at a Shinto temple and will be much better than the bastard she had before."

"And her new mother?"

Wakana's eyes glanced down to the sleeping girl again. "She will never replace Ayame, sadly. But she'll be in a better place with this new family. No ninjas, no danger, no family feuds with her at the center."

"Good," he murmured. "Very good. I just hope she's happy with them."

"She will be happy," Wakana replied. "Just as I hope you will be happy."

Itachi had no words other than his reply. "Go," he whispered. Wakana held Mizuki in her arms rose. She walked over to the water again, smiled back at her boyfriend once more, and jumped back into the pool of water. The splash was quiet.

For seven years, he didn't see her. For seven years, Fukui Usagi lived with her family in Shingokyo. For seven years, her family saved up money.

And when those years were up, Fukui Usagi saw.


End file.
